


For want of a hug

by Lasenby_Heathcote



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Coffee, M/M, Unintentional destruction of property
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-06
Updated: 2016-04-06
Packaged: 2018-05-31 14:59:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6474877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lasenby_Heathcote/pseuds/Lasenby_Heathcote
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A bad night puts Bucky in a bad mood, and there's only one person who can make him feel better.</p>
            </blockquote>





	For want of a hug

**Author's Note:**

> A quickly written virtual hug for agentcoop. 
> 
> And if you need a virtual stucky hug then it's for you too.

"Heads up." Barton whispered from his perch atop the fridge. The communal kitchen at Stark Tower was empty of souls expect for Sam Wilson, fresh back from his early morning run. That was until the dark hulking shadow of The Winter Soldier came storming through the door with an equally stormy expression on his face. The former assassin was wearing boxer shorts and a crumpled black singlet, and the disarray of his hair was a clear indicator of how badly he had slept. The bird buddies flicked each other a glance and Sam, ever the brave one, broached a greeting. 

"Morning Barnes."  
The brooding figure stopped his approach and turned full bodily towards Sam, sheer menace radiating off him. Sam didn't say anymore, just took a decent step backwards. He may be brave, but he wasn't suicidal. There were some times when you just didn't poke the bear. Barnes stomped over to the coffee machine blinking intensely and growling. Poking it savagely, the machine whirred and ticked away, and he stood there, still as a statue, one hand on top of the machine and eyes never leaving it. The silence from the occupants of the kitchen was palpable, Barnes was intimidating enough on one of his good days, but when it was a bad one, he was downright scary. The rest of the Avengers tended to give him a wide berth for fear of tipping the man into a flashback or worse yet, an outburst. 

The PA system burst to life above them suddenly screaming "those about to rock, we salute you!" as Tony Stark made his morning entrance. The scientist didn't look like he'd slept much either, but the bounce in his step and the wired look in his eyes spoke of an over dependence on caffeine. He was jabbering into a headset oblivious to the tension in the room when he stumbled towards the others. "Coffee on? Great, grab me a cup too, Buck-o." Stark said, slapping Barnes on his metal shoulder. Under the contact and sudden noise, Barnes bristled reflexively, shoulders high and defensive like a feral tom cornered in an alley. The case of the coffee machine where he had been resting his hand now featured fingertip shaped contusions, and the buttons were sparking dangerously. Tony jumped about a mile in the air, almost joining Clint on top of the fridge, which would have been comical if the whole thing wasn't so terrifying. Stark quietly muttered the names "JARVIS" and "Rogers", but otherwise stopped talking at all and around them the music cut out. In silence again, Barnes retracted his fingers from the machine in front of him and moved away, eyes still not leaving it, but his breathing was quicker and more ragged than it had been, whereas everyone else was holding theirs for fear of triggering the unstable man before them. They stayed this way for a very uneasy minute or two until a gentle "Hey" came from the doorway. 

They all turned to the new voice, belonging to the newly woken Steve Rogers. Rogers was wearing only a pair of grey sweatpants which hung dangerously low on his slender hips, and he rubbed his jaw sleepily as he padded his bare feet closer. A quick but subtle scan of the scene told him everything he needed to know and he continued walking towards them. He lifted his arms and wrapped them around the shoulders of the Winter Soldier with no hesitation and pulled his friend into a hug. Barnes put his hands, one metal, one flesh, on either side of Steve's body and for a second it looked like he was preparing to throw the Captain clear across the room. But instead his hands slid around his friend's back, accepting the embrace. "Another nightmare, Buck?" Steve murmured into the other mans ear, carding his fingers gently through the tangle of dark hair. Barnes hummed in agreement and curled his head into the space between his friend's neck and collar bone. They stood like that for a while and slowly, ever so slowly, Barnes's shoulders relaxed inch by inch until he was standing sedately, breathing in even and deeply. Steve patted his hair again and said "You just needed a hug, huh?" smiling, and raised his eyes to the room, as the three men around them exchanged glances, all wondering who of them would be brave enough to try that on the off chance that one day Rogers couldn't be reached for help.


End file.
